Multiple terminal electrical connector



March 17, 1970 D. E. NORRIS 3,501,736

MULTIPLE TERMINAL ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR 7 Filed Dec. 7. 1967 2Sheets-Sheet 1 l INVENTOR Q4 10 Donald E. Norris Fig.4 BY Mi GflEORNEYS.

March 17, 1970 D. E. NORRIS MULTIPLE TERMINAL ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 7, 1:967

INVENTOR Donald E. Norris United States Patent 3,501,736 MULTIPLETERMINAL ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Donald E. Norris, Kansas City, Kans.,assignor to Whitaker Cable Corporation, North Kansas City, Mo., acorporation of Missouri Filed Dec. 7, 1967, Ser. No. 688,747 Int. Cl.H01r 13/54 US. Cl. 339-91 15 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Aconnector has an insulator body provided with a shiftable locking barwhich simultaneously captures a plurality of male or female terminalsinserted within the body. "The locking bar has a released or unlockedposition utihzed during loading of the insulator body with theterminals. As each terminal is inserted into the body, it is temporarilyheld against withdrawal therefrom by a restriction formed in theterminal-receiving opening. After all of the terminals are inserted intothe body, the locking bar is shifted to its locked position to securelyretain the term-inals in place.

Two such connectors are employed to form a composite coupling, unitingof the two connectors being possible only if the locking bars thereofare both in their locked positions. Once united, the locking bars areinterlocked by a detent to preclude movement thereof toterminalreleasing positions as long as the connectors are joinedtogether.

In the automotive industry as Well as other fields where electricalcables and connectors are employed, the trend at the present time istoward smaller electrical components and this is reflected in the cableand connector art as well as in packaged equipment. Thus, a need hasarisen for a miniaturized coupling for electrical cables capable of usein production line operations to interconnect multilead cables. As anexample, in the automotive industry a coupling is required at the firewall of a vehicle to accommodate the emplacing of wiring harnesses invarious sections of the vehicle at different times in the productionline assembly.

Several problems, however, are presented when miniaturization isundertaken. The smaller the terminals in the cable connectors the moredifficult it is to maintain working tolerances. Furthermore, for rapidassembly of the cables and connectors and minimization of possibledamage to the miniaturized terminals, it is necessary that onlyrelatively small insertion forces be required to load the terminals (onthe ends of the cable leads) into the connector. Once in place, thenmeans must be provided to rapidly and securely lock the terminals to thebody of the connector. Finally, connectors of this type must be adaptedfor weatherproofing to protect the terminals from corrosion and providea long useful life.

It is, therefore, an important object of the instant invention toprovide a miniaturized connector for multilead cables which overcomesthe problems and satisfies the requirements mentioned above.

Specifically, it is an important object of the instant invention toprovide a cable connector having an insulator body for receiving andsupporting terminals of the male or female type, wherein loading of theterminals into the body during assembly may be accomplished by theapplication of relatively small insertion forces and withdrawal of theterminals from the body, once inserted therein, is inhibited.

Furthermore, it is an important aim of this invention to provide aconnector as aforesaid having a locking member therein which may beoperated to selectively release 3,501,736 Patented Mar. 17, 1970 ice orlock the terminals in place within the body of the connector, wherebythe assembly of the connector body and the terminals may be rapidlyaccomplished with assurance that the terminals will be properlypositioned therewithin, yet providing a connector in which the terminalsmay be released for repair or other purposes if necessary.

Another important object of this invention is to provide such aconnector in which the maintenance of close tolerances is not requiredin order to adapt the connectd? for use as a miniaturized coupling.

Still another important object to provide connectors as aforesaid whichmay be employed in pairs having mating male and female terminals, andwhich cannot be brought together for mating of such terminals unless thelocking members of both connectors are in their locked positions.

Yet another important object is to provide a pair of connectors as setforth in the previous object wherein both locking members areautomatically locked against movement to their unlocked positions whenthe two connectors are brought together to mate the terminals thereofand establish electrical continuity in multiple electrical circuits.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the coupling showing the male andthe female connectors thereof locked together, the leads extending fromthe coupling being deleted from the illustration;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the coupling shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the coupling shown in FIG. 1 illustratingthree of the terminals in place in the female connector;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the female connector show ing all terminalsin place and the locking bar in its locked position;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the male connector showing 8 of the 10terminals in place therein and the locking bar thereof in its unlockedposition;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 2, thelocking bars being shown in elevation for clarity;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 77 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an exploded, cross-sectional view taken substantially alongline 88 of FIG. 3 and showing the terminals locked in place in bothconnector bodies; and

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 6 with parts being broken away toreveal the internal details of the coupling.

The coupling comprises a ten-way female connector 10 and a ten-way maleconnector 12 illustrated in the drawings as the upper and lowerconnectors, respectively, of the assembly. The connector 10 has aninsulator body 14 of generally rectangular configuration, presentingopposed end walls 16 and 18 intercommunicated by an elongated, centrallydisposed, longitudinally extending channel 20 in body 14.

-Two rows of five generally rectangular insertion holes 22 are formed inthe top of insulator body 14 and extend downwardly thereinto, each hole22 communicating at its lower end with a cylindrical opening 24coaxially aligned therewith. The lower end of each cylindrical opening24 communicates with the bottom face 26 of body 14; therefore, tencontinuous passages through body 14 are formed extending from top tobottom.

As is particularly clear in FIG. 4, the channel 20 eX tends alongsidethe two rows of openings 24 and is disposed therebetween in parallelismwith the two rows, each opening 24 receiving a male bullet terminal 28which projects downwardly from bottom face 26. A terminal locking memberin the form of an elongated, rectangular bar 30 is received withinchannel 20 and is longitudinally shiftable therealong, the bar 30 beingprovided with five spaced locking projections 32 along each sidethereof. The bottom of body 14 is provided with a depending skirt 34which enshrouds the male terminals 28 except at the ends of the channel20.

A circumferential segment of each of the cylindrical openings 24 is openand communicates with channel 20, thereby exposing a portion 36 of eachof the male terminals 28. These exposed portions 36 project into channelas is clear from a comparison of FIGS. 4 and 8. Each of the maleterminals 28 has an annular, arcuate depression 38 forming a part of theexposed portion 36 thereof, the adjacent locking projection 32 beingreceived within the exposed part of depression 38 when the locking baris in its locked position illustrated in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6-9. Each of thelocking projections 32 is in the form of an integral hump on member 32having a convex outer surface as clearly revealed in FIGS. 2, 7 and 8.

The upper, longitudinal edge of locking bar 30 is provided with anupwardly projecting key 40 which is received within a keyway 42 in body14. The ends of keyway 42 define the limits of longitudinal movement ofbar 30 in channel 20, the opposite limits corresponding to the unlockedand locked positions of bar It should also be noted that the lower,longitudinal edge of bar 30 is centrally slotted at 44 for a purpose tobe subsequently discussed.

The male connector 12 includes an insulator body 46 of generallyrectangular configuration, the body 46 having a reduced section 48 whichtelescopes into the skirt 34 of body 14. The reduced section 48 hasopposed end walls 50 and 52 between which an elongated, centrallydisposed channel 54 extends, the latter receiving a loci:- ing member inthe form of an elongated, rectangular bar 56.

In a fashion analogous to female connector 10 described above, the body46 has two rows of five, generally rectangular insertion holes 58extending upwardly thereinto from the bottom thereof. Each of the holes58 communicates at its upper end with a cylindrical opening 60, thelatter depending vertically through the reduced section 48 to provide acontinuous passage through body 46. A tubular, female terminal 62 iscoaxially disposed in each opening 60, the latter having acircumferential segment thereof communicating with channel 54 to exposea portion 63 of the female terminal 62. The locking bar 56 is providedwith five spaced locking projections 64 along each side thereof adjacentthe lower longitudinal edge of bar 56, the projections 64 being of thesame configuration as the projections 32 of locking bar 30.

Each of the female terminals 62 is provided with an arcuate, annulardepression 66 forming a part of the exposed portion 63 thereof, eachlocking projection 64 being received within the exposed part of thedepression 66 of a corresponding female terminal 62 when locking bar 56is in its locked position illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6-9. The upperlongitudinal edge of bar 56 is provided with an integral, upstandingstud 68 which presents a detent receivable within slot 44 of locking bar30 when the connectors 10 and 12 are brought together with both lockingbars in the locked positions thereof. Additionally, the lower,longitudinal edge of bar 56 is provided with a depending key 70 which isreceived within a keyway 72 in body 46, the limits of keyway 72 definingthe locked and unlocked positions of bar 56.

It should be understood that the drawings are oversize illustrations ofa coupling of the type suitable for use with the cables of automotivewiring harnesses. The insulator bodies 14 and 46 are preferably ofinjection molded plastic material such as a modified polyphenylene oxidematerial (G.E. Noryl or equivalent). The locking bars 30 and 56 are alsomolded from the same material. Thus, except for the terminals, each ofthe connectors is com posed of only two parts, each capable of beingformed as an integral unit by injection molding.

Both the male and female terminals are formed from a flexible, metallicsheet material such as copper alloy.

A flat blank is first stamped from the sheet, and a subsequent formingoperation imparts the desired shape to the finished terminal. It shouldbe noted that the diameters of the terminal-receiving openings 24 and 60are somewhat greater than the diameters of the terminals therewithin,but that a restriction is formed in each opening 24 by a protuberance 74which is received within the annular depression 33 of male terminal 28.Similarly, a protuberance 76 in each opening 60 is received within theannular depression 66 of the female terminal 62 therewithin, therebyalso forming a restriction in each of the openings 60. The variousrestrictions in openings 24 and 60 define zones of reduced diametertherewithin, requiring that the terminals be forced past therestrictions upon insertion into corresponding openings until theprotuberances 74 or 76 become aligned with the corresponding depressions38 or 66.

Each of the terminals 28 or 62 is secured to a corresponding electricallead 78 by an integral lug 80 which is crimped to the exposed tip oflead 78 and also crimped thereon at the end of the insulated covering oflead 78. Thus, each of the terminals is both mechanically andelectrically attached to the corresponding lead 78, a portion of the lug80 being bent outwardly to present a stop 82 which seats against theshoulder formed at the inner end of the terminal receiving opening 24 or60.

The male terminals 28 have closed, tapered noses for good alignmentpickup, and the female terminals 62 have an external chamfer 84 at theirouter ends to aid in the insertion thereof into openings 60.Additionally, each of the female terminals 62 has a transverselyextending relief slot 86 therein adjacent depression 66 for insertionflexing of the two semicylindrical halves thereof formed during shape ofthe female terminal and which define proximal longitudinal edges seen at88 in FIG. 9.

An external latch is integrally formed with the two insulator bodies 14and 46 and comprises mating latch parts on both of the bodies in theform of a latch dog 90 extending from body 46 and a catch 92 formed onbody 14. Additionally, for the purpose of attaching the coupling to anapertured panel such as the fire wall of a motor vehicle, for example, abody clip type latch 94 is integrally formed with insulator body 14. Theclip 94 may be omitted if the coupling is to be employed as an in-lineconnector.

Either of the connectors 10 or 12 are loaded with respective terminalsin the same fashion. Using the female connector 10 as an example, thelocking bar 30 thereof is initially disposed in its released or unlockedposition which, as viewed in FIG. 6, is with the left end of bar 30protruding from the end wall 16 of body 14. release position is definedby the left-hand limit of keyway 42. When bar 30 is released, itslocking projections 32 are disposed between the variousterminal-receiving openings 24 and thus do not interfere with theinsertion of the male terminals 28 into body 14.

High insertion forces (greater than two to four pounds) are to beavoided and, to this end, the restrictions in openings 24 provided byprotuberances 74 reduce the diameters of openings 24 at the zones ofrestriction to approximately the outside diameters of the male bulletterminals 28. Thus, each of the male terminals 28 is readily forced pastthe restricting protuberance 74 until the fully inserted positionthereof is reached where the protuberance 74 is received by the annulardepression 38 in the terminal 28. Thus, it may be appreciated thatloading of the ten terminals 28 into insulator body 14 may be rapidlyaccomplished even though the sizes of the components to be handled aresmall. It should be noted that the flexibility of the terminals 28permits the same to be pushed past protuberances 74 without maintainingclose tolerances, the steps 82 formed on the lugs 80 of the terminalsassuring that the same will not be inadvertently pushed through openings24 past the fully inserted positions thereof illustrated.

During loading of insulator body 14, the various protuberances 74 assurethat each terminal 28 will not be inadvertently withdrawn afterinsertion since the protuberances 74 inhibit such withdrawal by virtueof the interference provided by the cooperation of each protuberance 74and the depression 38 in which it is received. Therefore, once all ofthe terminals 28 are in place, the assembler merely pulses against theprotruding end of locking bar 30 to shift the same to the lockedposition thereof illustrated to cause the locking projections 32 tosimultaneously capture all of the terminals 28 and secure the same inplace within body 14.

The same procedure is followed for the insulator body 46 of the maleconnector 12. When it is desired'to unite the two connectors and 12, itmay be appreciated that a safeguard is provided in that both lockingbars 30 and 56 must be in their locked positions in order for the twoconnectors 10 and 12 to fit together. This feature is provided by thedetent 68 extending from bar 56 and the corresponding slot 44 in bar 30,alignment thereof being required before the male connector 12 can befully seated within the skirt 34 of the female connector 10.

Additionally, the use of the. oppositely extending keyways 42 and 72 isof importance in that it precludes shifting of the interlocked bars 30and 56 to their released positions after the connectors 10 and 12 areunited. As may be seen from viewing FIG. 6, the released or unlockedposition of the locking bar 56 of the male connector 12 is to the rightfrom the locked position shown, i.e. with the right end of bar 56projecting from the right end of body 46. Thus, neither of the lockingbars 30 or 56 can be moved once detent 68 seats in slot 44.

As the two connectors 10 and 12 are brought together to mate theirterminals, the latch dog 90 slips behind the catch 92 and snaps intoplace in locking interengagement therewith when the male connector 12 isfully seated within the female connector 10. In applications whereweatherproofing of the coupling is required, a pair of sealing boots(not shown) may be slipped over the ends of the composite coupling fromwhich the leads 78 extend, and are telescoped one within the other atthe central portion of the coupling.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A multiple circuit electrical connector comprising:

a plurality of elongated electrical terminals;

an insulator body having a plurality of spaced openings thereinreceiving respective terminals upon longitudinal insertion of the latterinto corresponding openings, whereby to support the terminals inpredetermined spaced interrelationship,

said body having means therein engageable with each of said terminalsfor inhibiting withdrawal of each terminal from the body after insertionthereof into the corresponding opening; and a shiftable locking memberin said body provided with a plurality of spaced projections and movablebetween an unlocked position, where said projections clear theterminals, and a locked position where each projection is engageablewith a corresponding terminal to capture the latter and thereby lock allof the terminals in place Within said body. 2. A connector as set forthin claim 1, each of said openings being elongated and larger intransverse dimension than the terminal therewithsaid inhibiting meanscomprising a restriction in each of said openings respectivelypresenting a zone within the opening of reduced transverse dimension,

said terminals being of flexible material to permit insertion thereofpast respective restrictions Without application of excessive insertionforces thereto,

each of said terminals having means receiving the restriction of thecorresponding opening when the terminal is fully inserted thereinto.

3. A connector as set forth in claim 1,

said openings being disposed in a row,

said locking member being elongated and longitudinally shiftable betweensaid positions thereof along a path of travel extending substantiallyparallel to said row,

said projections being spaced longitudinally of said locking member andextending toward corresponding openings when the member is in its lockedposition.

4. A connector as set forth in claim 3,

said locking member being provided with a key projecting transverselytherefrom,

said body having a keyway therein receiving said key to limit the travelof the locking member, and establishing said positions of the member atthe limits of said travel thereof.

5. A connector as set forth in claim 3,

said body having a channel therein extending alongside said row ofopenings, receiving the locking member and defining said path of travelthereof,

said openings communicating with said channel to expose a portion ofeach of said terminals,

each of said projections being engageable with said portion of thecorresponding terminal when the locking member is in its lockedposition.

6. A connector as set forth in claim 5,

the axes of said openings and the longitudinal axis of said channelextending at substantially right angles to one another,

each of said terminals being of generally cylindrical configuration,substantially coaxially disposed within the respective opening, andhaving an annular depression therein comprising a part of the exposedportion thereof,

said projections being received within the depressions of thecorresponding terminals when the locking member is in its lockedposition.

7. A connector as set forth in claim 6,

said inhibiting means including a protuberance in each openingrespectively extending thereinto and received by the depression of theterminal therewithin.

8. A connector as set forth in claim 7,

each of said projections and the protuberance of the correspondingopening, when the locking member is in its locked position, beingdisposed in diametrically opposed relationship to each other.

9. An electrical coupling comprising:

a pair of multiple circuit electrical connectors,

each of said connectors including a plurality of elongated electricalterminals of generally cylindrical configuration, an insulator bodyhaving a row of spaced, cylindrical openings therein substantiallycoaxially receiving respective terminals upon longitudinal insertion ofthe latter into corresponding openings whereby to support the terminalsin predetermined spaced interrelationship, said body further havingmeans therein engageable with each of said terminals for inhibitingWithdrawal of each terminal from a predetermined, fully inserted,relative longitudinal disposition within the corresponding opening afterinsertion thereinto, and an elongated, longitudinally shiftable lockingmember in said body movable along a path of travel extendingsubstantially parallel to said row of openings between an unlockedposition clearing said terminals and a locked position engaging saidterminals to capture the latter and thereby lock the terminals in placewithin said body, the latter having a channel therein extendingalongside said row of openings, receiving the locking member anddefining said path of travel thereof,

the terminals of one of said connectors being of the male type andprojecting from the body thereof, and the terminals of the other of saidconnectors being of the female type and mating with corresponding maleterminals with said locking members disposed in parallelism with eachother,

said locking members being provided with interengageable structurepermitting relative telescoping of the male and female terminals onlywhen both of the locking members are in their locked positions.

10. A coupling as set forth in claim 9,

there being latch means for joining the bodies of the connectors uponsaid relative telescoping of the male and female terminals,

said latch means having latch parts on the outside of said bodiesoperable to interlock with one another as the connectors are broughttogether with their terminals in mating interengagement.

11. A coupling as set forth in claim 9,

one of said locking members being provided with an outer longitudinaledge having a slot therein,

the other of said locking members having an outer longitudinal edgeprovided with an outwardly projecting detent receivable in said slot,the latter and the detent presenting said structure.

12. A coupling as set forth in claim 11,

said locking members being shiftable to the locked positions thereof inopposite directions, whereby engagement of the detent with said onemember within said slot prevents movement of either member to itsunlocked position.

13. A multiple circuit electrical connector comprising:

a plurality of elongated electrical terminals;

an insulator body having a plurality of spaced openings thereinreceiving respective terminals upon longitudinal insertion of the latterinto corresponding openings, whereby to support the terminals inpredetermined spaced interrelationship; and

a shiftable locking member in said body provided with a plurality ofspaced projections and movable between an unlocked position, where saidprojections clear the terminals, and a locked position where eachprojection is engageable with a corresponding terminal to capture thelatter and thereby lock all of the terminals in place within said body.

14. A connector as set forth in claim 13,

said openings being disposed in a row,

said locking member being elongated and longitudinally shiftable betweensaid positions thereof along a path of travel extending substantiallyparallel to said row,

said projections being spaced longitudinally of said locking member andextending toward corresponding openings when the member is in its lockedposition. 15. A connector as set forth in claim 14, said body having achannel therein extending alongside said row of openings, receiving thelocking member and defining said path of travel thereof, said openingscommunicating with said channel to expose a portion of each of saidterminals, each of said projections being engageable with said portionof the corresponding terminal when the locking member is in its lockedposition.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,954,542 9/1960 Wales 339- 64-2,964,725 12/1960 Lehr et al 339-59 FOREIGN PATENTS 302,480 10/1965Netherlands.

RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner J. H. MCGLYNN, Assistant Examiner US.Cl. X.R.

